


Your Ghost Haunts These Walls

by Ian_the_Existential_Crisis



Series: Heal and Move On [2]
Category: Apex Legends (Video Games)
Genre: Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Bamf wattson, Canon Nonbinary Character, F/F, Healing, I just want them to be happy, Multi, Past Relationship(s), Please Send Help, Post-Those Left Behind, Suicidal Thoughts, also slight papa caustic being a supportive dad if you squint, eberybody has a different way of grieving, i dont know what im doing, shes wonderful, shhh im not a huge fan of darksparks, they/them for bloodhound
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-21
Updated: 2020-02-21
Packaged: 2021-02-28 05:27:48
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,091
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22828678
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ian_the_Existential_Crisis/pseuds/Ian_the_Existential_Crisis
Summary: Bloth's ghost would forever haunt the walls Renee had built around herself, but at least she had Natalie there. Someone who didn't want to break down everything she had built up, just maybe remodel and paint a new beginning.
Relationships: Past Bloodhound/Mirage | Elliott Witt/Wraith | Renee Blasey, Wattson | Natalie Paquette/Wraith | Renee Blasey
Series: Heal and Move On [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1629724
Comments: 2
Kudos: 20





	Your Ghost Haunts These Walls

**Author's Note:**

> Look, it's like 3 am. I don't know what this story is. I just really wanted to write darksparks, but I don't know how to do that.
> 
> Please feel free to leave a comment. Part 3 should be up soon. (It might be the last part to this little series, I haven't decided if I want to write Bloodhound's side. It would be interesting to do it from their view.)

The first thing she remembered was the cold. Had it been cold enough to snow? No, it couldn't have been. She knew that Elliott had a weird issue with the sound of rain. And he had been acting strange all day. It was something she would never understand. The only one who really understood him was Bloth. Renee tried. She really tried.

Just like she tried to love him. For Bloth. Maybe she had fallen for him slightly along the way. But it was Bloth who held her heart completely. 

She had met Bloth Hunder when she was eight. And even with the mind of a very small child, she knew that she would marry them. They were a few years older than her, six to be exact, but she didn't mind. She loved them. She loved every part of them. Their long red hair, which they let her braid even though she wasn't very good at it and would often just tangle the soft strands. Their tawny (was that a good description for it? Would bronzed be better?) was cool and rough under her fingers. They were layered with battles scars and calluses. They lived through a lot in their short life when she met them, but she loved to lay on their bed and listen to them talk in that strange accent they had. Every word that came from their lips charmed her. 

They were perfect. 

Thinking back on it, they met in that hospital in Psamathe. That bleak place. They brought color to it. Where everything was white and eye-straining, they were the beautiful flower filled with exotic color. 

She thought about following them the day they left. She didn't know how she was supposed to live on in a world without her Bloth. 

Not that she didn't love Elliott. But it wasn't the same with him. That idiot was, well… How could she put it nicely? He was like a metamour that she also ended up loving. At first he was just Bloth's partner. Someone, who was not her, who also held Bloth's heart. But the more she talked to him, and the more she got to know him, she realized the reason Bloth loved him. She thought she would never love another as much as she loved Bloth, but for what it was worth, she loved Elliott. 

But she didn't understand him. There was no special connection, No instant link. There was nothing. 

She didn't understand his thing about rain. She didn't comprehend the whole blanket situation. To her, it was just a simple gift that Bloth had made for him. Being around those two almost made her feel normal. The voices in the back of her head always warning her, distracting her, were harder to hear around them. Maybe because Elliott was just so freaking loud. 

But the day Bloth left, everything went silent. Even the especially loud and obnoxious Elliott Witt had finally calmed. He was dumb and enchanting. Even when he did things wrong, like taped flowers to the ceiling, spilling water all over the floor in the process, he still had a goofy smile and a laugh that could warm a room. Renee had never actually seen him cry. He was such a happy person she wasn't sure he could. 

He cried when Bloth left them.

* * *

Year 1

"Renee?" Elliott gave her a concerned look. His chocolaty eyes said everything. Something was wrong. What had she done wrong? She was just setting the table, the same as she had done every night. "You set an extra plate again."

She looked down. She had. Their table was circular because they were all equals in their relationship. There was no head of the table, No head of the family. Both of them had treated her like a person. The way they told her she should always be treated. 

"They might come home." The second it left her lips she knew it wasn't true. All of her hoped that they would. Any minute they would walk through the door, arms opened wide to hug both her and Elliott. But that would never happen. Not anymore.

"Renee." Elliott spoke softly. She didn't need to look up from the plate to know he was on the verge of tears. She couldn't understand why he took so much of the blame. There was nothing he could have done. He couldn't have stepped in front of the stray bullet. They hadn't even known something was wrong until after Bloth was on the ground. Elliott had done everything he could. Called an ambulance, in a panic because he was best at panicking. He had placed presser on the wound. Tried his best to keep Bloth awake. He had done everything right, almost like he had done it before. 

But Elliott thought differently from her. She remembered, frantically arriving at the hospital, him whispering that he wished it was him instead. He would have died for Bloth if he could have. But life didn't work that way. Still, Renee would never say it out loud in fear of him doing something stupid, she wished it had been him too. For a moment, standing in the waiting room, hearing the person that she had loved her whole life was gone, her rage built up and she actually wished Elliott had died in their stead. 

But then she looked at him, distraught, wishing for his own death, and she realized she couldn't wish that upon him. It was an accident. It was only later she learned what happened and how hard Elliott had tried to keep their lover alive. 

It was easier to think that Bloth had gone away though. It was less painful to think that they didn't actually die. She wanted to deny it. Deny everything. It hurt, and the voices at the back of her mind screamed. 

"They'll be home soon. We'll leave the plate for them."

Elliott left the room, grabbing that dark blanket from the couch before breaking down in the bathroom. Apparently he didn't think the same way she did. He didn't grieve the same. Which was why she had to stay. She had already lost Bloth. Even if Elliott wasn't the love of her life, she still loved and cared about him. She didn't want him to leave her too. 

Maybe, just maybe, they could pick up the pieces and be happy. Just the two of them.

Renee turned the stove off and waited for Elliott to stop crying before eating. It was weird. They eat in silence, like before she knew him. When Bloth first brought Elliott home.

* * *

Year 2

Renee had been thinking about it for a while. She couldn't stand living in this place anymore. It had taken her a lot of soul searching, and about a year of time to come to terms with the fact that Bloth was dead. They were never coming back. But this apartment was filled with their memories. She wanted to move. She planned to bring it up to Elliott. She was going to drag him along with her. She was…

"Let's get a divorce." Elliott said. His voice had been distant when he said it. Like he wasn't himself. She thought he had been getting better lately. He had started to smile again. "I know you're unhappy here. So…"

She hadn't planned on leaving him. But he gave her such an easy out. To be her own person and start looking for herself again. To maybe move on. Was it wrong of her to be selfish and want to heal? All her life had been for the past year was working, grieving, and making sure Elliott was alive. 

"You won't stop me?" She asked. She was so tired of this life. 

"No."

He was probably tired too. Maybe he just needed a fresh start. They could still be friends. They would still chat. Yeah, yeah! They could still help each other even if they weren't together. 

"Please." She heard herself whisper. It was almost as if she wasn't in control of her words. "Please let me be free."

There was no life in his eyes. They were dazed, he wasn't really here with her. Right now, Elliott was somewhere else, probably with Bloth. 

And for the first time in a long time, she didn't care if she never saw Elliott again.

* * *

Natalie was something else. She met the small blonde while she was at work. She was a customer at the electronic store Renee worked at, shopping with a much larger male. Renee assumed, almost correctly, that it was her dad. She grinned widely, grabbing different parts, explaining to the man what she planned to do with them. 

All of it sounded very complicated. Nothing too interesting to Renee. 

So Renee turned away from her. She had a lot going on, and this was an easy job she didn't have to think about. She had just finished moving out of the apartment. So unpacking her new place was a must. She couldn't decide if she wanted to hang pictures. Elliott had assured her that she could take whichever ones she wanted. He put the rest, except one, into a box right in front of her. She almost took the box from him. Almost. But she remembered the reason she was moving was so she could be free. She wanted to heal from this.

She took a matching picture that she knew Elliott would keep close. They both loved it. Bloth once fought. They didn't speak of it much, but both Renee and Elliott knew that's why they were in that hospital so much. Old battle wounds that never healed. But they let Renee, one day, help them into their battle furs. The old dusty brown ones they kept in the balck trunk at the end of their bed. The mask and all. And they did a small photo shoot. Renee would be forever grateful that Elliott pestered Bloth enough to get them to do it. 

Them in their furs and mask, they were mysterious and sexy. Not that they weren't already. 

She kept that picture close to her. 

"Pardon!" 

Renee jumped at the voice, one that wasn't in her mind. Oh, it was the cute little blonde. Her name, obviously, was Natalie. She had come in so many times since Renee started working there than she had memorized her face. The cute darker flesh of her cheek. Maybe other people didn't view scars as cute, but this one suited her. 

"Is there something I can help you with?" Renee answered calmly as she leaned over the counter. Her boss had told her not to lean because it made her look like she was slacking, but strong fuck to him, she didn't care. Natalie was very nice and enthusiastic. But she had a tendency to trail off into her own world and leave Renee far behind when talking about parts for whatever it was she was working on. Must have been a genius thing, Elliott had often done that to her. Before even working here she had heard a little about Natalie from him. He called her smart, amazing, powerful. But he almost sounded jealous.

"I like you."

Renee blinked. It felt like an eternity. 

"Please go on a date with me."

This really happened? She wasn't dreaming. She was pretty sure she wasn't dreaming. If she were Bloth would be here with her. They would be laughing at the tiny blonde who just confessed. They would nudge Renee forward and tell her to give it a try. 

But Bloth wasn't here. So Renee had to do it herself. She took a deep breath and met those blue eyes. They sparkled, filled with hope and admiration. 

"Sure. How about I write down my number, and you text me?" Renee said grabbing a but of receipt paper.

"Oui!" She chimed. Her voice filled with an unknown ascent. It was strange. Renee was so used to Bloth's ascent that she forgot others had their own. 

The blonde blushed as she took the scribbles number. "I have to get back to my dad now, before he buys the whole store. Au revoir." She turned back to the older bearded man in a yellow jacket. Renee could faintly hear her voice squeal with delight though. "Professor Nox. I finally did it!"

Renee smiled. This was the right choice. This was a step forward.

* * *

As it turned out, Professor Nox was not, in fact, Natalie's father like Renee had thought. It took her two months of seeing the blonde on and off to learn this. 

"You thought he was my papa?"

"You do call him dad." Renee grumbled sinking into her brown couch, hoping the dark light of the movie-lit room wouldn't give away her embarrassment. Date night was just a stay at home movie with buttery popcorn. 

"He was a friend of my father. Professor Nox and his maman took me in after papa died." Natalie said easily, gobbling down another gross, gushy, handful of pure butter… popcorn. 

How was she able to accept it so easily? How could she talk about it? Renee tried her best to move on, to be strong, but even thinking of Bloth still hurt. And forget trying to talk about them. Her words would catch in her throat and she felt like choking. 

"You're so strong." Renee whispered. 

"You think?" Natalie glanced at her. Her blue eyes wandered back to the screen after a second. "I don't think so. I still miss him."

"You can talk about your dad and keep his memory alive. That's more than some."

There was a pregnant silence. 

"How's Elliott?" The blonde asked. "I heard from his mother you two were close."

"We were. We don't talk much anymore." 

Renee shifted. This was uncomfortable. She didn't expect to be talking about her Ex with the person who was currently trying to push her way into the void that was Renee's heart. She didn't want to talk about Elliott. She didn't want to think about him. Thinking about him made her think of their memories with Bloth. She was trying to move on. She couldn't keep dwelling. 

"It's like he's a ghost."

"What?" Renee felt a surge of panic. Was she talking about Elliott or Bloth? It couldn't be Bloth. She never told Natalie about Bloth ,and even if Natalie had known about them, she had many other friends in the nonbinary community and mould never disrespect their pronouns. So it had to be Elliott. It was true, Renee hadn't kept her promise to herself that she would still contact Elliott. She didn't even know if he was alive or not. 

"The guy in the movie. The rest of the people around him are kinda ignoring him. It's like he's a ghost."

* * *

"Renee."

Her eyes fluttered open. She wished it didn't feel like her body was moving through some sort of icy void. She needed to open her eyes. She needed to get up. But her body didn't want to move. 

Where was she? 

Oh. Her legs were completely asleep. Her back was hunched over the white table. Oh right. Psamathe, she was on Psamathe again. 

"Renee."

Bloth. Her bloth. 

"It's time to wake up." They told her. She could feel the coarse and calloused hand gently stroke the side of her face, moving the shorter black hairs away from her barely opened eyes. 

"Bloth." She whispered unsure. This was a dream. Get love was gone. They had died before she could be there for them. They left her in the world broken and hollow. But they were here now.

"Renee, wake up. I'd like to go for a walk."

"Can't it wait? We could cuddle instead." She offered. She could smell the floral scent wafting off them in the breeze. They were already outside? If only the bright light of the sun didn't blind her. 

"If you would rather nap, I could always fetch Elliott." Bloth looked at her. Across their face was a white medical mask, where they feeling ill again? The white mask stood out against their rich skin. 

It felt like she was falling further and further into this dream. Was this the dream? Everything felt so real. Bloth looked so alive and happy. Her Bloth was here. 

She placed a hand on theirs, forcing them to stop stroking her hair. "I'm up, I'm up. Don't bother him."

Somehow, deep in her heart, Renee knew Elliott was also napping. He would be even more distraught than she. He would accept this as reality, even though it felt as real as anything she had ever experienced, she didn't want Elliott to wake up here and leave her forever too.

She forced herself up, out of the chair with their help. The sun was still blinding, but she knew this place. The flower field outside of the hospital. They used to hide away here when she was much younger. The nurses would yell at Bloth because they were older and should know better. 

"Why are we here?" She asked. 

"I felt like going for a walk." 

"We could walk anywhere. The city is nice this time of year. It's not too warm, not too cold. Plenty of dog parks. I know how much you love to visit them. And there's a nice little cafe that opened just down the street from my…"

"I wanted to bring you here one last time." Bloth cut her off. Their hand squeezed hers, as their sad eyes looked only at the flowers. "Just one more time looking at this garden with you."

"It doesn't have to be the last time. We can always visit each other. I still love you, Bloth."

"Renee." They let her hand slip away. "It's time. I've been watching. You can move on and be happy."

"But!"

"I'll still be here." They looked back to the table Renee had been at. She was right, across from where she was one sleeping Elliott Witt. "Someone needs to look after him."

"But we could…"

"Natalie is beautiful." They stopped her again. "I just wanted one more moment with you. Before I become a ghost of a memory."

Renee would never admit it, but she woke up crying and fearful. She needed to talk to Elliott again. She needed to know he was still alive.

* * *

Year 3

Renee hadn't been able to get into contact with Elliott. Since when was he so elusive? He was usually a ball of sunshine. Had her leaving really changed that much?

She only found out he was alive through one of the sweet employees at the Paradise Lounge. Marvin, a happy, childish, robot who claimed to be Elliott's best friend told her he was visiting his mother. That itself was mildly surprising. When she and Bloth lived with him, he would call his mother daily, but he rarely had time to go out and visit her. She also lives in Solace, but she wasn't in Solace City. The drive was lengthy and he didn't like leaving his bar unattended even though he had many capable employees. 

"Marvin?" Renee asked, sliding her hand against the wooden counter of the bar. Not many people were there, seeing as the only time she had to spare was before noon. "How long has it been since Elliott was here?"

A question mark appeared on the box that made up his chest. She wanted to smile at it since he was trying his hardest to display the emotions she didn't think a robot could feel. Boy, she had learned differently since meeting him.

"I see him once a week, friend." The robot replied. "However it had been rainy this week. I doubt he will make it in."

Renee bit the bottom of her lip thinking about it. She never understood. She still didn't think she ever would. But while she didn't understand him or his reasoning, she had been patient with him while they were together. She didn't fight his fears or make him feel weak for having them. Because she knew that everyone had something. 

"I guess I'll be back. But don't tell him I was here to check up on him." She glared at Marvin, hoping he would understand how upset she would be if he snitched on her. 

"I look forward to seeing you again, friend."

* * *

Natalie was fucking precious. In the year that Renee had known her, and the eight months they had been dating, she always saw her as a small, childish, genius. Yeah, she was smart and independent but she was also so freaking cute and a little naive. 

But Renee was currently watching her girlfriend shred this poor man's sense of self worth. 

In Natalie's defense, this man immediately put his hands on her after walking up to her. He sat down at their table, while they were eating in the food court, and stretched his arm out, placing it on Natalie's shoulder before pulling her in close and asking what a pair of 'fine little ladies' like them were doing there.

Renee, from across the table was about to stand up to defend her girlfriend. But the pinched look and narrowing of those flawless blonde eyebrows caught her attention. And before she could move Natalie had already taken action. 

She grabbed his wrist, yanking his arm off her as she stood. He yelped in pain when her other hand came into contact with his neck.

"Do we know you?" The question seemed to be to him, but her icy blue eyes were on Renee. Perhaps she thought it was just an overly touchy friend of hers. Renee did explain how Elliott was about hugs. And how when they finally met, if he ever stopped evading her at every move, he would probably want a hug or two.

"I think I would remember someone so rude." Renee scoffed. 

"Oui." Natalie frowned. "I suggest you move along, Tête de noeud." 

"All right, all right, fine!" He flinched as Natalie moved away from him. Renee knew he grumbled something about them being bitches under his breath as he left. But it was well worth it. That side of Natalie…. It was amazing to see. She might have seemed naive, but she was so powerful and just perfect. 

"I'm so in love." Renee accidently said out loud. She hasn't meant to. But this person before her was like the sun, and she was a simple star. 

"I was worried 'e would try with you if I didn't give him a clear message." Natalie said, sitting back down. She brushed off her pink skirt as she did. Her small acts of self-defense couldn't have dirtied it, but she still dusted away the imaginary dirt. 

* * *

Natalie was the one who proposed. It had been almost at the four year mark. Just a little before. They weren't on a date. They weren't doing anything special. It was just kind of sudden. 

Hell, Renee had still been in her work uniform. Natalie had come in to pick something up and see her, just as Renee was getting off. 

"Well if you were already leaving, I could walk you home." The blonde offered. 

Natalie, like Renee, didn't live very far. She usually walked to the store. Besides, this would give her a chance to invite her girlfriend in. Maybe she could talk her into a movie night if she wasn't busy.

"You know I would love that." Renee grabbed her hand. Her fingers easily slipped into place. It was like Natalie's hands were made just to hold hers. Well that and invent a bunch of revolutionary stuff for the science department that she rarely made sense on. Even if she didn't make any sense, Renee still loved to listen to her ramble about her newest project.

"Perfect!" Natalie smiled. "Let me just grab the part I need and we can go?"

Renee watched her bounce away down the electrical alse. She halfway wondered if Natalie would just word vomit on her the whole way home. What kind of new project was she working on? The last thing Renee remembered her talking about was the Repulsers which kept the cities safe from the unstable wildlife. That was a newer project too. Had she already finished it? Natalie was brilliant after all, so it wouldn't surprise Renee. 

"Are you ready?" Natalie asked.

Her voice dragged Renee out of her thoughts. "Yes of course. Do you have any plans tonight?" Renee held the door to the shop open for Natalie. She wasn't holding a large number of bags like usual. In fact she wasn't holding any. 

"I want to marry you." Natalie said suddenly. 

Renee's mind went blank for all of three seconds. Surely she must have misheard. "I don't think I heard you corr-"

"Renee. I love you. I don't like thinking of the days without you. I don't have a ring on me, but-"

"Yes."

"I could probably-"

"Yes."

"And I understand if you still aren't ready-"

"Yes!" Renee grabbed her hands. She barely caught the door with her foot, keeping it from slamming Natalie in the face while she smiled. "Yes, yes, yes. A million times yes!"

"It doesn't matter I don't have a ring?"

"I don't care." Renee could feel the tears forming in her eyes. 

"Veux-tu m'épouser." Natalie whispered in her native language. 

"Nothing would make me happier." Renee said. 

A much younger her would disagree. A much younger Renee would say the only thing that would ever make her happy again is for her Bloth to come back to her. But as much as she loved them, and she always would, Natalie truly did make her happy. 

So there she stood, half out the door of the place she first met Natalie, crying tears of joy for once. She stood there, not caring if they were in anyone's way, Natalie's hands in hers. And she finally felt like she was home. 

It wasn't what most would consider a special place. There was nothing fancy, no kneeling, no ring, but in this perfect moment, Renee Basely was finally happy again. 

* * *

Year 4 

Renee finally got a hold of Elliott. It was more like she spammed his phone until he picked up. She had let this go for three years, quietly checking in with Marvin every so often just to make sure he was alive. 

This had to stop. 

So she called him out for dinner. Anything to get him away from that apartment. Anything so she didn't have to go back there. And after weeks of begging, he finally said okay. 

At first she was worried he wouldn't show. But as usual, he was just fashionably late. That's okay though, because Natalie already said she would be a few minutes late because of work. It was a good thing this wasn't a super fancy place if she would have to stop at home first making her even later. No, it was just a cute family run restaurant that they often went to. Elliott was east to spot though. Four long years and he hadn't changed much. He even smiled widely at her. 

"You haven't changed Witt." She smiled, scooting. She had thought that after so long he would like a hug or something. He was a very touch deprived person. At least the Elliott she'd known was. 

But he easily sat down in the booth across from hers before she could stand. It was odd. But she didn't question it. She didn't want to question it. She was worried, but she also hoped he had found someone who loved him as much as she loved Natalie. 

"Same old me." He flashed her another bright smile. "What about you? You're actually wearing your hair down for once."

"Wasn't it you who told me to let my hair down? You always said that keeping it up all the time made me a bitch."

"I feel like you aren't helping your side of that argument. You seem less bitchy."

Renee laughed. She remembered that argument like it was yesterday. Bloth had to pull them apart. They were always the one who stopped the arguments. It took years, but Renee finally understood what Elliott meant by his statement. If she always kept her hair up, she just let the stress build. He wanted her to let loose. Thinking back, she couldn't tell why she hadn't understood right from the start. It was so easy to see now. Elliott only wanted the best for all of them. 

"Bonjour." 

Renee brightened. Natalie had finally made it. She didn't seem as late because Elliott was also late. 

"Hello." Elliott said carefully, his eyes went to the blonde the second she had greeted them. 

"Elliott this is-" 

"Natalie. I know." He interrupted with a slight crack in his smile. "Friends?"

"Oui!" Natalie smiled, forcing Renee to scoot over for her. 

"Well actually," Renee cleared her throat. "We are getting married."

"Oh."

"And I'd love for you to be there." She wanted to give him something to look forward to. They were friends after all. "Please."

He visibly gulped. "Of course. You're my best friend. Just, uh, text me the time and day and I'll make sure I'm not working or something."

She should have known his response was odd at the time. Renee had been keeping tabs on him. He wasn't spending nearly as much time at the bar. But she was happy he agreed to quickly instead of asking her to wait. 

"Is your number still the same? I've had a hard time reaching you."

"It's the same."

After he awkwardly answered that Natalie chipped in, turning the conversation. She talked about her project and they chatted about Evelyn, who Renee had only met once. 

She watched as they talked. Elliott's smile didn't falter for the rest of their time together, which wasn't worrying. So why did Renee have such a bad feeling?

* * *

Year 5

Elliott fucking Witt had skipped out in her wedding. She had been furious. How dare he even think he could get away from her or out of the trouble he was now in? This was an important day to her. He was still an important person to her. 

And he fucking ditched her without saying anything. 

Once the rage passed a bout of intense worry set in. He had texted her a couple of times since they last met, but at one point he stopped answering. It wasn't like he ever texted her first, but at least for a small amount of time he would text her back.

Naturally she checked with Marvin at the bar. But he told her that Elliott wasn't there. That he was traveling around. 

Honestly, if it weren't for the little voice in her head that made her split for a second from Natalie's side, after grabbing her jacket, there was a chance she would never have noticed him as he tried to slink by. It was as if Blothj was still there, guiding her. 

"Elliott is that you?" 

He at least had the dignity to stop and shrink in on himself. He looked like he was about to be scolded. Which in all fairness he should be. How dare he be such a butt!

"Oh. Renee it's been a while." His smile was pinched. Good he was nervous. He deserved a little bit of a scare for all the worry he had put her through. "How long has it been? Oh never mind that, how are you?"

How long has it been? Really Elliott? He must have realized his mistake right away. And he was lucky. She would strike him down right there if there weren't so many witnesses. 

It's been almost a year Elliott." Renee tried to sound calm, but the way he shifted from foot to foot told her that she didn't sound calm or passive at all. But a hint of a smile on his lips made her wonder what was going on in his head. "It wouldn't have been as long if you would have shown up to my wedding."

"Well, you see."

"You don't have an excuse." She didn't care to hear it anyways.

"That's pap- popas- That's not true." Elliott struggled to get out. His stammering would always get worse the more nervous he got. What was he hiding?

Maybe it was time for some honesty. How could she expect him to trust her when she, herself, couldn't even be completely truthful. She was sure that Marvin didn't rat her out. So he probably had no idea that she was desperately trying to make sure he was okay. He probably didn't realize she still cared about him. "Seriously. I was really worried about you after the last time we spoke. Then you didn't even call, nor did you show up for the big day. I thought something happened to you."

"I'm fine. I'm always fine." 

She felt herself frowning. Elliott was a walking, talking, train wreck of a human. A wonderful ball of sunshine, but just a big old mess. Fine was not a definition he would ever be in her mind. "I went down to the Paradise Lounge. When your employees said you weren't there I feared the worst. I thought maybe you decided…" 

She watched him freeze up. So he had been thinking some bad things. He had also thought of joining Bloth. She knew that she hadn't been the only one. But she wanted to be selfish and run from the pain. It was Natalie who taught her that she didn't need to run from their death. She could still keep them in her heart and move on with life. Did Elliott have a person like that? Had she left him alone, wanting to die, but too afraid? 

Renee wanted to hug him as he turned the conversation. She could see him smile a little, eyes lighting up as he talked. He was still here. He was still alive. But something was different. 

"Elliott." 

That wasn't a voice Renee knew. That face that glared at her wasn't familiar. Which was weird. She and Elliott knew pretty much all of their friends. Would he really make a friend without telling her. But he didn't spark anything in her memory. He was only a little bit shorter than Elliott, and his skin was somewhat dark. His narrow eyes glared at her with a rage she couldn't understand. 

"A friend?" She couldn't help but ask, half ignoring her ex husband trying to introduce them. 

"Yes."

"A boyfriend." The shorter man quickly added. 

She had a million questions running through her head. But mostly she was just glad. She watched as Elliott let the other male, Tae Joon, protectively wrap his arms around his waist. His eyes lit up as they had a silent conversation. She felt like she was intruding.

Even Elliott finally found the will to move on. 

She was grateful to this man. Even if he looked like he wanted to skewer her. It was kind of cute though. It reminded her of when she first met Elliott. She was still somewhat young. Granted, not as young as Elliott was, but she probably did the same thing. Hiding behind Bloth, glaring daggers. Being jealous. It was very cute that he had someone who loved him so much.

Renee gave a small laugh. "Oh good luck with that one. I have to go find my wife, I see you both around. It was lovely meeting you-"

"Likewise." He interrupted. Before she could even wave the Asian was dragging him off. Away from her. She couldn't blame him, places to be and whatnot. And who would want their boyfriend hanging out with their ex wife? Maybe once he realised that Renee had no plans on stealing Elliott, then they could all be friends. 

"Renee." Natalie called from behind. "I thought I saw Elliott over here." 

"He was preoccupied with his new friend."

Natalie gave a knowing laugh. "Shall we, mom cher?" 

Renee grabbed her wife's hand. Now that she wasn't worried over Elliott, and things of the past, she could think of the future. Each day would be one step at a time, but Natalie would be there. So would Bloth. 

Their ghost would forever haunt the walls Renee had built around herself, but at least she had Natalie there. Someone who didn't want to break down everything she had built up, just maybe remodel and paint a new beginning. 


End file.
